MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Venezuela's earthquake toll rises to at least 920 dead as rescuers race against time

Despite the time elapsed, teams were still rescuing people alive

The number of victims from the twin earthquake that struck north-central Venezuela on Wednesday rose to at least 920 dead and 3,360 injured, according to the toll given on Friday by the president of the National Assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, who specified that at least 172 people remain trapped under the rubble. Rescue teams worked against the clock more than 48 hours after the quakes, as the chances of finding survivors narrowed.

“We must announce with sorrow that 920 people have died from the extremely violent action of the June 24 earthquakes,” Rodríguez said in a broadcast on the state channel Venezolana de Televisión. According to the toll, the tremors affected at least 383 buildings, 13 hospitals and some 1,002 additional structures. Most of the deaths were concentrated in the coastal state of La Guaira, the hardest hit, which along with Vargas state was placed under the control of the Bolivarian National Armed Forces. The lawmaker asked the public to avoid traveling to the area so as not to congest the routes used by rescue brigades.

Despite the time elapsed, teams were still rescuing people alive. A brigade from El Salvador located a 15-year-old girl trapped on the ninth floor of a collapsed building in Catia La Mar, and other survivors were reported in the town of Caraballeda. Rescuers used percussion equipment to break concrete in a controlled way, though constant aftershocks —more than 200 since the quakes— and a lack of heavy machinery in some areas slowed the work. In several places, neighbors dug through the ruins in search of their relatives.

The emergency mobilized a broad international response. The United States activated a third search and rescue team, a Miami-Dade County task force made up of 80 personnel and six canine units, while the United Kingdom sent a contingent of 68. Brigades from Colombia, El Salvador and other countries were also working in the affected areas. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Jorge Rodríguez and promised a “big, fast and effective” response.

Among the dead are foreigners from Brazil, China, Spain and Portugal, as well as several Venezuelan footballers, as confirmed by the Venezuelan Football Federation. Acting President Delcy Rodríguez promised that operations would continue “without rest” and thanked the aid received from abroad. In parallel, the UN asked the government to lift restrictions on social media to facilitate the spread of information that could save lives; following that request, the social network X became accessible again in the country, after having been blocked since August 2024. The two quakes, of magnitude 7.2 and 7.5, were among the most powerful recorded in Venezuela in more than a century.